Romantic Interludes Part 29

Kennedy chuckled and fished the stick out of the box. Moment of truth, indeed. She quickly did what she needed to do, replaced the cap on the test and set it down on the toilet tank.

"Don't accidently drop it in!" Vanessa cried when she heard the toilet flush.

Kennedy opened the door and yanked her into the tiny stall with her. Vanessa looked down at her jacket and wrinkled her nose.

"I really wish you would have washed your hands before touching me."

Kennedy ignored her and grabbed her hand, twisting her wrist so she could check the time on her watch.

"Three minutes."

"How are you going to tell Memphis?"

"I haven't thought about it," Kennedy said, not taking her eyes off the watch.

"Valentine's Day is tomorrow. You should do it then!"

Kennedy frowned. "Isn't that a little cliche?"

"To propose or get married on, yes. To tell your hubby he's going to be a daddy? No."

"How did you tell Joe?" Kennedy looked up just in time to see the blush in Vanessa's cheeks before she turned her face away. "What?"

"I didn't actually tell him the first time. I, uh, kind of threw up on him when I was . . ." She waved her hand in circles and cringed. "You know."

"Oh my G.o.d!" Kennedy was about to slap her hand over her mouth to stop the giggles but quickly remembered what she had just done.

"Yeah. He kind of put two and two together after that."

"Wow. Poor Joe."

"Poor Joe? What about me? Anyway, you should definitely tell him tomorrow!" Vanessa said, the excitement returning to her voice.

"I don't even know if there's anything to tell him."

Two minutes later Kennedy was staring at her answer.

"Well, now you know," Vanessa said softly.

Kennedy looked at her and then back at the stick.

"Do you think they give discounted prices for used tests?"

After she had paid for the already used test, Vanessa dropped her off at home and made her promise to call her as soon as she spilled the beans to Memphis.

"He's going to be ecstatic, you know that, right?" Vanessa said. "He isn't Brooks."

"I know that. But like you said earlier, it's not like we were trying. It's still going to be a surprise for him."

"And he'll love it."

Inside the house was quiet, a rarity since Luke had entered their lives. He brought chaos with him everywhere he went. Kennedy smiled as she thought of the new chaos that would soon be entering their lives.

She looked down at her still flat stomach and gently placed her hands on top. It was hard to believe there was a little life growing inside her. And, even though she felt calmer about the whole thing, there was a part of her that was terrified of going through the same h.e.l.l as before. Only this time her heart wouldn't be the only one broken.

Kennedy shook her head and tried to push thoughts like that out of her mind. She needed to stay positive. She needed to stop comparing this pregnancy to her last one and living in fear of the unknown. She needed to figure out a way to tell Memphis.

She didn't want to just blurt it out. You only got to be told you were going to be a parent for the first time once, and she wanted to do it in a way he'd never forget. But she didn't want anything too over-the-top either. She wanted to keep things simple but memorable. Like the way he had proposed to her . . .

"I think I finally unpacked the last box of yours today," Kennedy had said, hopping on the bed next to Memphis.

He'd looked at her over the paper he was reading and smiled. "That only took us four months."

"Us?" Kennedy snorted. "If I had left it up to you, you would still be living out of a suitcase." She paused and waited until he went back to reading. "You know what I didn't find though?"

"What's that?"

"Your little black book."

"Oh yeah. I should probably stop using that now, huh? Guess that means I have to cancel the date I have this weekend."

"Nah, you shouldn't cancel on the poor girl," Kennedy said, slipping off the bed with a saucy smile. "I can always make plans with Alec. Ryder mentioned he would be in town this weekend."

The sound of the paper being tossed to the side told her she had hit the mark and taken their banter a little too far. Memphis still didn't like the fact she was friends with the other artist. Alec was the only man he had ever been jealous of. And even though it shouldn't, it kind of turned Kennedy on to taunt him about their friends.h.i.+p and see his animalistic side come out.

"That d.i.c.k is in Vancouver for the weekend?" Memphis huffed.

Kennedy tried to hide her smile as she turned away from the dresser to face him.

"That's what Ryder said."

"You know that the only reason he's working with Strokes of Pa.s.sion is to get close to you, right? It has nothing to do with Ryder."

Kennedy laughed and crawled back onto the bed, straddled his lap and cupped his face.

"Aw, baby," she cooed. "Are you afraid Alec is still trying to get into my pants?"

"You and I both know he wants more than that."

Kennedy dropped her hands and frowned.

"So you're saying if that's all he wanted you'd be okay with it?"

"f.u.c.k no! You're mine. He just needs to realize that."

Kennedy ran her hands through his hair and nodded. "He does."

"But do you?"

She stopped stroking his hair and met his eyes. "What-"

"Do you realize that you're mine? Forever. For always."

"Who else's would I want to be?" The question came out whispered, unsure of where he was going with the conversation.

"Do you know, really know, how much you mean to me, Kennedy? There isn't anyone else that I would want to do all of this with. There isn't anyone else who makes me not only be the man I want to be but makes me feel like I'm that man. You are my everything. There isn't anyone or anything that's more important to me than you are."

Tears stung her eyes and she nodded, fearing if she opened her mouth to speak all that would come out would be sobs.

"I thought of how to do this," he said softly, running his hand over hers. "I thought of all the places I could take you to make this special for you. I could take you back to Alaska, or wait until our trip to Croatia, but none of the scenarios I thought of seemed right. But this seems right. Right here, right now in the home that I want to make a life with you in and raise our family in." He brushed a curl behind her ear and gently wiped a tear that had escaped off her cheek. "Do you know what today is?"

She shook her head, the tears falling freely now.

"Thirteen years ago today you ran into me on campus and turned my world upside-down. Ever since that day I haven't been able to imagine my life without you. You're my best friend, my soul mate, my entire reason for being. You are the person I want by my side for the rest of my life.

"Will you be that person, Kennedy? Will you let me take care of you and love you like no one else ever has? Will you marry me, beautiful?"

Kennedy sat motionless, afraid to breathe in case this was a dream and she would wake any second.

Memphis stopped stroking her hands and looked at her with fearful eyes.

"Kennedy-"

She pressed a finger to his lips and nodded.

"Yes, Memphis. I'll marry you."

She was half laughing, half crying as she wiped her cheeks and smiled at the man in front of her, and barely caught his grin before he pulled her mouth to his, her tears running over both their lips. When they had finally broke apart, Memphis laughed and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I feel like an a.s.s for not having a ring."

Kennedy had shook her head, holding his head in her hands.

"I don't need a ring. All I need is you . . ."

Kennedy rubbed small circles on her stomach as she thought of that night. A love like theirs had created something beautiful. That had to make everything okay, didn't it?

"Something wrong?" Memphis asked later that evening as they were cleaning up dinner dishes. "You've seemed a little preoccupied since I got home."

"No, everything is great."

"Great, huh?" He gave her a cheeky grin. "How big of a hit did the bank account take this time?"

Kennedy laughed and swatted at his b.u.t.t with the dish towel.

"The bank account didn't take a hit at all today, smart a.s.s."

"I thought you were going shopping. How is that possible?"

Kennedy shrugged and draped the towel on its hook to dry.

"We mostly just browsed. Vanessa had to pick up the kids from daycare at noon."

"Oh. So there really wasn't time to do any damage is what you're saying."

"Exactly." She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. "How did Luke do?"

"Can dogs sulk? Because he sure as h.e.l.l seemed sulky all day. I even took him to the park and let him run off some steam and all he did was mope."

"Aw and now you feel guilty?"

"This dog is playing us."

"No, this dog is trying to play you. Stay strong."

Memphis ran his hands down her back until they rested on her b.u.t.t and he squeezed.

"I want to play with you," he murmured, rubbing his nose against her ear.

"That can be arranged."

Memphis moved her backwards until she hit the kitchen table and seated her on top of it. Kennedy widened her legs so he fit nicely in between her thighs as he cupped her face and angled her head so he could control the kiss. His tongue swept along hers, taking what he wanted but giving her exactly what she needed.

Kennedy dragged her hands slowly up his arms, feeling the muscles beneath her palms as she slipped them under the sleeve of his T-s.h.i.+rt and over his biceps causing Memphis to moan into her mouth. She had discovered his arms were one of the most sensitive parts of his body. One stroke along his biceps and he was putty in her hands. Of course that always came with payback since he knew exactly where to stroke her to drive her up the wall, but really, did he expect her to complain?

Memphis moved his hands from her face down to her waist and traced small circles with his fingers on the small of her back. Kennedy s.h.i.+vered and she felt him smile against her lips. He grabbed the hem of her sweater and tugged.

"I think this needs to come off," he whispered, leaving her lips to kiss along her jaw and down her throat. "Arms up, beautiful."

Kennedy eagerly did as he asked and lifted her arms so he couple strip her of the sweater. He tossed it to the floor and she had a fleeting thought of Luke getting his teeth on it, but all warnings or thoughts of another shredded article of clothing was hastily forgotten when Memphis dipped his tongue between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

He slid his hands up her sides and over her ribs to her chest, flicking his thumbs over her nipples as she arched her chest against his mouth. When he pinched the tips through her bra, Kennedy had to bite her lip to keep from crying out, not so much from pleasure this time. Her nipples felt so incredibly sensitive it was almost painful.

"Memphis." She wrapped her legs around his back and forced him closer to her. "You're wearing too many clothes."

Memphis straightened and she gave a silent sigh of relief that the trick worked and his attention was no longer on her chest. Kennedy watched as he pulled the s.h.i.+rt over his head and dropped it next to hers. She loved watching him undress, loved seeing the way his body moved and the muscles bunch and roll under his skin with the simplest of movements. She could sit and look at him all day and never grow bored.

"You always have the carnal look in your eyes when you look at me, Kennedy."

His husky voice snapped her attention away from his upper body to his eyes and she licked her lips at the heated look he had.

"Does that bother you?" The question was unnecessary since she already knew the answer.

"It does a lot of things to me, bothering me isn't one of them." He grabbed her hand and placed it on the bulge beneath his fly. Both of their breaths. .h.i.tched when she instinctively molded her hand to fit over him. "This is what that look does to me," he told her, his voice sounding low and thick. "I don't even have to touch you to get hard. All I have to do is see that erotic haze cloud your eyes and I instantly want you. And it's there every time you look at me, Kennedy. Every f.u.c.king time. Do you have any idea how good that makes me feel? Knowing you want me that much all the time?"

"Yes." She dropped her eyes to her hands so she could watch his body's response as she trailed them over his stomach and up his chest to his shoulders and down his arms. "Because you look at me the same way."

When she reached his hands, she glanced back up at him and Memphis linked their fingers together and brought the back of her hand to his mouth for a gentle kiss before draping her arms over his shoulders and leaned into her, forcing her to lie back on the table.